Hello native English speakers.
Could you do me a favour and help me for my queries about two sentences.

1a. The sea has eroded the cliff face over the years.
( This is a complete sentence)
1b. The sea's erosion of the cliff face over the years.
( This is a noun phrase)
1c. The erosion of the cliff face by the sea over the years.
( This is a noun phrase)

Question:
Are they all grammatically correct?
Can these "expressions" be suggested the same meaning?

2a. Tom furtively ate three apples last week. ( This is a complete sentence)
2b. Tom's furtively eating three apples last week. ( This is a noun phrase)
2c. Tom's furtive eating of three apples last week. ( This is a noun phrase)
2d. For Tom to eat three apples furtively last week.
(This is a noun phrase expressed by infinitive)

Question: Are they all grammatically correct?
Can these "expressions" be suggested the same meaning?

Question

Hello  native English speakers.
Could you do me a favour and help me for my queries about two sentences.

1a.  The sea has eroded the cliff face over the years. 
( This is a complete sentence)
1b. The sea's erosion of the cliff face over the years.
( This is a noun phrase)
1c.  The erosion of the cliff face by the sea over the years.
( This is a noun phrase)

Question: 
 Are they all grammatically correct?
Can these "expressions" be suggested  the same meaning?

2a.  Tom furtively ate three apples last week. ( This is a complete sentence)
2b.  Tom's furtively eating three apples last week. ( This is a noun phrase)
2c. Tom's furtive eating of three apples last week. ( This is a noun phrase)
2d. For Tom to eat three apples furtively last week.
(This is a noun phrase expressed by infinitive)

Question: Are they all grammatically correct?
Can these "expressions" be suggested  the same meaning?

Answer

1. Erosion Sentences
✅ All are grammatically correct.
🔹 1a (sentence) and 1b/1c (noun phrases) express the same idea but in different structures.

2. Eating Sentences
❌ 2b is incorrect – "furtively eating" doesn’t fit naturally in a noun phrase.
✅ 2a, 2c, and 2d are correct but differ slightly in focus.
🔹 2c (Tom's furtive eating of...) is the most natural noun phrase.
🔹 2d (For Tom to eat...) sounds more abstract, often used when explaining reasons.

Answer

(1) All can be correct, and all can be a valid response with practically the same meaning, to a question like: "What caused the cliff face to change so much?"

(2) All can be gramatically correct, and A, B & C could all answer this question, to convey a similar meaning: "What made my apples disappear so fast?" But 2D would not answer the same question appropriately. "For Tom to..." would answer a different kind of question, for example: "Why did you collect more apples than we could count?" or "Why did you leave the kitchen door unlocked?"

لا تفوّت فرصة تعلّم لغة جديدة وأنت مرتاح في منزلك. تصفّح مجموعتنا المختارة من مدرّسي اللغات ذوي الخبرة وسجّل في درسك الأول الآن!